Power, Memory, Architecture

Richard M. Eaton and Phillip B. Wagoner

Focusing on India's Deccan Plateau in the turbulent sixteenth century, this book examines the political histories and material culture of fortified strongholds that were repeatedly contested by the region's rival primary centers.

It explores the many ways that political power, monumental architecture, and collective memory interacted with one another.

Radically rethinks the usefulness of Hindu-Muslim relations as the master key for interpreting this period of South Asian history.

Power, Memory, Architecture

Richard M. Eaton and Phillip B. Wagoner

Description

Most studies of the history of the early modern Deccan focus on struggles between the region's primary centers, that is, the great capital cities such as Bijapur, Vijayanagara, or Golconda. This study, by contrast, examines the political histories and material culture of smaller, fortified strongholds both on the plains and atop hills, the control of which was repeatedly contested by rival primary centers. Exceptionally high levels of conflict over such secondary centers occurred between 1300 and 1600, and especially during the turbulent sixteenth century when gunpowder technology had become widespread in the region.

The authors bring two principal objectives to the enquiry. One is to explore how political power, monumental architecture, and collective memory interacted with one another in the period under study. The study's authors - one trained in history, the other in art history and archaeology - argue for systematically integrating the methodologies of history, art history, and archaeology in attempts to reconstruct the past. The study's other aim is to radically rethink the usefulness of Hindu - Muslim relations as the master key by which to interpret this period of South Asian history, and to propose instead a model informed by Sanskrit and the Persian literary traditions.

Power, Memory, Architecture

Richard M. Eaton and Phillip B. Wagoner

Table of Contents

List of Figures and TablesNote on Translation, Transliteration, and AbbreviationsAcknowledgementsIntroduction1. OrientationsChapter 1 Chalukya Emperors, Delhi Sultans, 1000-1350Chapter 2 - Temples and Conquest, 1296-15002. Kalyana and the Chalukya LegacyChapter 3 Reviving the Chalukya Imperium at Sixteenth-Century VijayanagaraChapter 4 Bijapurs Revival of the Chalukya Imperium3. Warangal and the Kakatiya LegacyChapter 5 Shitab Khan and the Restoration of Kakatiya Cults and TemplesChapter 6 Qutub Shahi Warangal and the Foundation of Hyderabad4. The Raichur Doab in the Age of GunpowderChapter 7 The Military Revolution in the DeccanChapter 8 The Political Functions of City GatesConclusionAppendix 1: Notes on MethodAppendix 2: Overview of the Three Primary Study SitesSelect BibliographyIndexAbout the Authors